The Associated Press story is here. The local story is here. And the personal story is that he was a good friend of my step-father's. Bobby Thompson, my step-father and talented, professional banjo player passed away recently, and now Vassar is also gone after a long struggle with lung cancer.
Vassar "Superbow" Clements was a fiddle player who made guys like me appreciate music that would most usually not get more than ten seconds of playing time on the personal stereo. His dynamic style of playing was affectionately called "hillbilly jazz." None of his music sounded manufactured or "market tested". It really was the sound of great talent having a great, wild time.
I'll see if my mom has any pics of Bobby and Vassar together or if I can share any anecdotes here. Until then, look up his stuff, listen to it and just relax and smile. That's what I'm doing right now.
- Here are a couple of very small pictures on Vassar's website of he and Bobby along with Jim and Jesse.
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